I’m 5’3 and recently lost about 20lbs, reaching my original goal of 124lbs. The journey wasn’t an easy one. After being laid off, I worked out 2-3 hours a day (Insanity – I ran 3.5 miles daily and some days also did a bootcamp!) I realized that I was beating my body up so I backed off a bit.

Now my goal is to get to 115lbs but I kind of feel like I’m plateau-ing. What can I do to jump start weight loss again? I eat about 1,500 calories a day. Can I still lose weight if I only work out an hour a day? Also, how late in the day is too late to eat fruit? I know it’s natural sugar but I get hungry a lot late at night.

Quick question, longer background: What are your thoughts about exercising EVERY DAY?

December of 2008 I was about 40 pounds overweight, inactive with some health issues that had my cardiologist saying “lose weight and exercise!”

I had an elliptical and stationary bike and started to use them 16 minutes each per day (my wife was doing 15, so the competitive side of me said “16!”). I have not missed a day since 1/1/2009. I increase 1 minute every other month, so now I am up to 27 minutes on each per day.

I also bought a Bowflex and do strength training 5 times per week. Now I am looking for a personal trainer to “fine tune”. Honestly, I am concerned about a let down if I take a day off…so I don’t. Oh, today I am 6’0″, 179 pounds, resting pulse in the mid 40s, 48 years old.

So, back to the original question – what are your thoughts on exercise EVERY DAY? Thanks!

Here’s my question. I’m a 30-year-old guy in good shape despite a very busy life.

I work an insane 70 hour week (including weekends) and am always on the go, taking meetings, traveling, speaking and presenting.

I know I should get 8 hours of sleep a night, but honestly I’m lucky if I get 6 hours. The result – by about 4 o’clock in the afternoon I feel foggy and half asleep.

My remedy is to reach for an instant pick me up – either a strong coffee or an energy drink like Red Bull. But I know neither is great for me. I know I should eat a piece of fruit – but trust me that’s the last thing I feel like when I’m struggling to get through the day…

I would love to get more sleep, or take an afternoon nap – but neither are a realistic option at the moment. So when I need an instant kick of energy what’s the healthiest – and tastiest – option.

I work full time and lead a very busy life, but have managed to generally stay in shape. However my husband, Rick, is around 250 lbs and hasn’t exercised for the last 10 years (much to my frustration)

I’ve made peace with the fact that Rick is out of shape, but our two kids are also now quite overweight – by a good 30 lbs each in my estimation.

I try to give the kids healthy food – but when their dad is eating burgers and pizza I’m fighting a losing battle. Rick says the kids can lose the weight when they’re older and if I keep on at them I’ll make them paranoid about the way they look.

So what do I do? How can I get the kids to shape up – without causing a full-scale family riot?